Two bills stripping Ohio unions of the ability to compel membership and automatically collect dues face an uncertain fate at the Ohio Statehouse.

Gov. John Kasich has reserved judgment on the proposals being prepared by state Reps. Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag, his fellow Republicans. GOP House Speaker William Batchelder has also been cautiously noncommittal.

Even before Roegner and Maag had held a scheduled event Wednesday to explain their companion “Workplace Freedom” proposals, union-organized protests were taking place in the capital.

Roegner’s bill would affect private-sector unions. Maag’s would apply to public-sector unions, the same entities targeted in a sweeping collective bargaining overhaul rejected by more than 60 percent of Ohio voters in 2011.

Twenty-four states, including neighboring Indiana and Michigan, have such right-to-work provisions in place.

Less than two years after Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected collective bargaining limits for government workers, Republicans in the Ohio House are preparing legislation that would prohibit requiring workers from joining or paying automatic dues to a union.

Less than two years after Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected collective bargaining limits for government workers, Republicans in the Ohio House are preparing legislation that would prohibit requiring workers from joining or paying automatic dues to a union.

State Rep. Kristina Roegner said in a co-sponsorship request circulating Tuesday that she wants Ohio to become the 25th Right to Work state in the nation.

Her “Workplace Freedom” bill would apply to public-sector unions, and a companion measure from state Rep. Ron Maag would apply to private-sector unions.

Democrats and labor leaders leaped on the proposals as a slap to the strong majority of Ohio voters who repealed a proposed collective bargaining overhaul in November 2011 that limited the bargaining rights of public-sector workers.

In late 2011, just days after Ohio voters repealed new restrictions on public employee unions, conservative activists went to work on a key part of Senate Bill 5: the banning of mandatory union dues.

“Right-to-work” laws were passed last year in Michigan and Indiana , and the Workplace Freedom Act could be headed for an upcoming Ohio ballot. Backers says it’s about choice; organized labor calls it blatant union busting.

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It’s here, on the side of State Route 315 near the Ohio State University campus, that unions have taken their fight against the “right-to-work” proposal with two attention-getting billboards: One with the words “Workplace Freedom Act” over a Soviet hammer and sickle, the other with a skull and crossbones telling drivers “Workplace Free Act Poisons Workers.”

Dan Kirk is president of a local Teamsters office and traveled to Michigan to rally against the “right-to-work” proposal there.

If ‘right-to-work’ comes in, it destroys the working family. Wages are cut, benefits are cut, working conditions are cut. It’s a long list of things, and it doesn’t matter what union you’re in.

Several Ohio unions have contributed to Keep Ohio’s Heritage, a political action committee formed last year to fight ‘right-to-work.’ It raised about $20,000 in the final half of 2012.

As unions continue their campaign against the proposal, the campaign for banning mandatory union dues rolls along.

The new television ad comes from the political action committee Ohioans for Workforce Freedom. Home builders, business groups, and others who could benefit from weaker unions have donated more than $130,000 to the PAC.

Strategist Chris Littleton leads the effort. He also led the landslide victory for a 2011 state constitutional amendment designed to let Ohio opt-out of health care mandates. He’s confident supporters will collect the nearly 400,000 signatures by July to get “right-to-work” on the November ballot.

We know what the people feel on this, we know what they want, we know what their desire is. So all we want to do is get it to the ballot and let them decide.

The most recent polls seem to support Littleton: A survey by Quinnipiac University last year found 54 percent of Ohio voters think workers should be able to opt out of unions. Forty percent oppose making union membership optional.

Ohio State University sociologist Andrew Martin studies organized labor. He says Southern states have long liked “right-to-work,” but Northern industrial states like Ohio initially rejected it.

“There was some effort to get ‘right-to-work’ laws passed, but they weren’t as successful. Now there is a renewed effort in states like Michigan, like Ohio, like Indiana, to get that passed.”

While Democrats are united in their opposition to “right-to-work,” the issue divides conservatives. As gung-ho Tea Party groups gather signatures, more-moderate Republicans don’t want a repeat of their Senate Bill 5 defeat. Governor John Kasich says “right-to-work” is not a priority for him.

Conservative strategist Chris Littleton says he knows why.

Who from the established political world likes the idea of getting involved with unions? Unions are unbelievably strong, they’re very influential, they’re very powerful, they spend a lot of money.

Another group of Littleton’s, the Ohio Liberty Coalition, has openly mocked Kasich and many other Republicans for ignoring the issue.

However much the two sides spend gathering signatures and in an ensuing ad war, it likely will pale in comparison to the Senate Bill 5 campaign, where combined spending surpassed $40 million.

The report from the right-leaning Buckeye Institute says states that let workers opt out of union dues have had economic growth in recent years, but union leaders and their allies say the study is misleading.

Supporters call it â€œright to work.â€ Critics call it â€œthe right to work…for less.â€ Both sides are talking about the same thing: a proposal to change Ohio law to ban unions from requiring workers to pay dues.

Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports supporters call it the free market at work, but critics aren’t convinced. Click the play button above to hear his full report.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/29/new-right-to-work-study-not-convincing-labor-supporters/feed/0labor,right to work,tea party,union dues,unionsThe report from the right-leaning Buckeye Institute says states that let workers opt out of union dues have had economic growth in recent years, but union leaders and their allies say the study is misleading.The report from the right-leaning Buckeye Institute says states that let workers opt out of union dues have had economic growth in recent years, but union leaders and their allies say the study is misleading.WOSU Newsno4:04Should Union Contracts Force Workers To Pay Union Dues?http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/13/should-union-contracts-force-workers-to-pay-union-dues/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/13/should-union-contracts-force-workers-to-pay-union-dues/#commentsTue, 13 Mar 2012 10:46:10 +0000WOSU News Staffhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=24713Do you think employees should be forced to join unions or pay union dues?

Remember that labor-backed group that helped convince Ohio voters last year to repeal a new law that slashed the negotiating clout of public employee unions? The group, “We are Ohio,” says itâ€™s sticking together to wage a fight against another proposal that could cut union power. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports it may not be this year, but sometime in the next couple years, another bitter ideological fight is looming.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/13/we-are-ohio-stays-together-to-fight-right-to-work-amendment/feed/0collective bargaining,right to work,senate bill 5,tea party,unionsThe group that led the fight against Senate Bill 5 says itâ€™s sticking together to wage a fight against another proposal that could cut union power.The group that led the fight against Senate Bill 5 says itâ€™s sticking together to wage a fight against another proposal that could cut union power.WOSU Newsno4:04Should Ohio Become A “Right To Work” State?http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/16/should-ohio-become-a-right-to-work-state/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/16/should-ohio-become-a-right-to-work-state/#commentsThu, 16 Feb 2012 11:00:40 +0000WOSU News Staffhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=23433Do you think workers should be able to opt out of labor unions?

]]>Some Conservative activists want to make Ohio a so-called â€œright to workâ€ state where people can opt out of labor unions. They say itâ€™s a matter of freedom, but union supporters say itâ€™ll drive down wages and hurt work conditions.

]]>Ohio voters sided with labor unions last November by repealing a new law limiting union negotiating clout.

Now a new independent poll shows Ohio voters may desert the union cause over another proposed ballot issue. Backers label their plan â€œright to work,” and if passed it would ban future union contracts, public and private, that require workers to pay money to unions.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/15/poll-ohioans-favor-right-to-work-status/feed/0labor unions,ohio,right to work,senate bill 5Conservative activists are touting a new poll that says a majority of Ohioans want to let workers opt out of labor union dues.Conservative activists are touting a new poll that says a majority of Ohioans want to let workers opt out of labor union dues.WOSU Newsno4:02“Right To Work” Amendment Clears Another Hurdlehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/02/right-to-work-amendment-clears-another-hurdle/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/02/right-to-work-amendment-clears-another-hurdle/#commentsThu, 02 Feb 2012 13:51:07 +0000Bill Cohenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=22803Backers want to put a measure before voters to let more Ohioans opt out of labor unions.

]]>Supporters of a plan to make Ohio a so-called “right to work” state have cleared another legal hurdle, but they still have far to go before they can put their plan onto the ballot for voters to decide. Click the play button above to hear Bill Cohen’s report on the effort to let more Ohioans opt out of unions.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/02/right-to-work-amendment-clears-another-hurdle/feed/0labor unions,right to work,senate bill 5,tea partyBackers want to put a measure before voters to let more Ohioans opt out of labor unions.Backers want to put a measure before voters to let more Ohioans opt out of labor unions.WOSU Newsno50